FDA proposes new safety rules on imported food

By Matt Sloane, CNN

Updated 2036 GMT (0436 HKT) July 26, 2013

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Photos:Photos: How to keep your food safe

Food safety tips – The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 48 million people suffer from foodborne illnesses each year in the United States. Stay safe by following these steps outlined by the Food and Drug Administration:

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Photos:Photos: How to keep your food safe

Food safety tips – Clean properly: Wash all produce thoroughly with water and/or a vinegar solution before eating. Make sure also to wash your hands and everything else that comes into contact with food. This includes kitchen utensils, cutting boards, countertops, tableware and cookware. Wash your hands thoroughly with warm water for at least 20 seconds before touching food, after handling uncooked meat or produce, and after eating. Make sure you also wash your hands between preparing each type of food.

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Photos:Photos: How to keep your food safe

Food safety tips – Separate your food: Keep uncooked food from contaminating other food with dangerous bacteria. Separate raw meat, poultry, fish and produce from one another and other foods. Use separate cutting boards for meat and vegetables, or thoroughly clean the cutting board before using it to prepare a different food.

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Food safety tips – Separate your utensils: Be careful not to use the same utensils to prepare different foods without first cleaning the utensils. Finally, don't use the same utensils or dishware for both uncooked and cooked food without cleaning them first.

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Food safety tips – Cook food properly: Keep food out of the danger zone by cooking it thoroughly. The danger zone is where germs thrive, between 40 degrees and 140 degrees Fahrenheit. Make sure you cook food to at least 140 degrees to kill harmful microorganisms.

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Food safety tips – Check the temperature: Check your food's internal temperature with a food thermometer, but be careful not to contaminate food with a dirty thermometer. Make sure you clean the thermometer as you check each item. A food thermometer is the only way to know if your food is cooked enough. Simply cooking meat until it turns brown may not be an accurate indication of whether your food contains harmful bacteria. If you plan to keep food warm after cooking, make sure the internal temperature doesn't drop below 140 degrees Fahrenheit.

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Food safety tips – Chill: Keep foods cold and chill leftovers quickly. Check your refrigerator with a refrigerator/freezer thermometer to make sure the temperature is 40 degrees Fahrenheit or below, and make sure your freezer is 0 degrees or below. If you have leftovers or perishable foods, refrigerate or freeze them within two hours (only one hour if the surrounding temperature is above 90 degrees F). If you thaw frozen food, don't leave the food out at room temperature. Thaw the food in the refrigerator. If you need to thaw food quickly, place the food under cold running water or in the microwave. Then cook the food immediately.

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Story highlights

FDA proposes two new safety rules in response to the Food Safety Modernization Act

Fifteen percent of food supply comes from overseas, including 20% of fresh vegetables

Inspectors only examine about 2% of incoming food supply, FDA says

The Food and Drug Administration on Friday promised a safer U.S. food supply when it implements two new rules regulating food imported to the United States.

The first rule would put the burden on U.S. food importers to ensure their foreign suppliers are meeting U.S. food safety standards. The second would establish provisions for certifying third-party auditors in these countries.

"Many of the most vulnerable commodities are coming from countries with less-mature systems in terms of regulatory oversight and farming practices," FDA Commissioner Dr. Margaret Hamburg said. "This is an opportunity to help build regulatory capacity and improve safety standards."

The FDA will open the proposed regulations to public comment for a period of 120 days. It expects implementation of these changes to take two to three years.

With 15% of the U.S. food supply coming from overseas, including 20% of fresh vegetables and 50% of fresh fruit, Hamburg said these regulations are long overdue. The most recent case of contaminated food involved pomegranate seeds from Turkey; as of Wednesday, 153 people have been sickened by Hepatitis A after eating the seeds.

"Food-borne illnesses continue to take a great toll on American consumers, killing almost 3,000 people each year," Hamburg said. "The health of our families is too important not to take the steps we're announcing today."

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The current food safety system in the United States relies on FDA inspectors at ports of entry around the country physically inspecting food and detaining items that may pose a hazard to the American public. But inspectors can only physically examine 2% of the nation's incoming food supply, according to the agency, leaving the other 98% unchecked.

The best way to fill that gap, the government agency says, is to require importers to oversee their suppliers, and in turn, for FDA to oversee those importers.

"These regulations represent a shift toward prevention and for industry being responsible for documenting what they have done to prevent problems from occurring," said Michael Taylor, the FDA deputy commissioner for foods and veterinary medicine.

The rules also propose a preferred vendor program of sorts, giving foreign food companies incentives to comply with U.S. safety standards.

"There will be opportunities to see their products move more swiftly (through the import process) if they have a record of compliance," Hamburg said. "This will increase incentives for companies to fully comply."

"Once finalized, the rules would ensure that foreign foods are held to the same high safety standards as American products," the Pew Research Group wrote in a statement. "By holding overseas producers to U.S. food safety standards, the new rules would establish a level playing field that would also benefit U.S. businesses, farmers and food processors."

The Center for Science in the Public Interest also said, "Today's long-delayed announcement that the FDA is moving forward on regulations to increase the safety of imported foods is good news and, if finalized, will lead to safer foods. Supplier verification means that companies should know who they are buying from -- not just their name and address but their food safety practices."

The proposed rules come in response to the Food Safety Modernization Act, signed into law in January 2011. The act represented the first major changes in food safety policy in the United States in more 70 years.